I Have a Post Apocalyptic Online Friend C23.2

Hey, first of all, thanks for reading my lousy Machine Translation. To be honest, I’d really like it if you guys corrected the mistakes I made. But please speak nicely and politely. My heart is not strong enough to read your too-harsh comments. Have a nice day. 🙂

Chapter 23. Part 2

The military escorting everyone to the Shelter had already left. He had no choice but to drive toward the Shelter alone, constantly evading zombies along the way. Unexpectedly, he became entangled in dodder.

“Thank goodness I ran into you. I would have died for sure otherwise. By the way, you’re heading to the Shelter too, right? Shall we go together?”

Zhou An’an and Lu Yuan exchanged glances. Lu Yuan replied, “We’re planning to go somewhere else.”

The Mechanic looked surprised. “Really? It’s so dangerous out there now. Only the shelter is safe.”

Lu Yuan nodded.

Not wanting to press further, he shifted the conversation to his own experiences since the apocalypse had begun.

Feeling a bit sick of braised pork, Zhou An’an went to get some rice, and Lu Yuan followed.

“He’s acting strange,” Lu Yuan whispered.

Zhou An’an, holding the rice ladle, glanced at the Mechanic and nodded.

“He was practically dying before. How did he suddenly become so energetic?”

“I suspect it has something to do with the dodder.”

“Should we let him stay in the car? Could it be dangerous?”

“Let’s just wait and see.”

Lu Yuan took the bowl of rice Zhou An’an had filled for him, handed her his empty bowl, and returned to the dining table.

Zhou An’an gave him the middle finger and continued filling her bowl.

At the table, the two men’s conversation had shifted from how to deal with zombies and mutated plants to what kind of cigarettes were best and which brands of liquor were the finest.

Lu Yuan knew little about these topics. He transformed into a model student, diligently listening to their boisterous discussions, almost taking notes.

“When it comes to liquor, I still prefer Maotai. I was lucky enough to taste a cup at my boss’s birthday last year. Ever since, all other baijiu have tasted like horse urine. Ah, if I could just have one more sip in this lifetime, I could die without regrets.”

The Mechanic smacked his lips, gazing out at the night, as if still savoring that expensive taste.

Zhou An’an sat beside him, observing him but finding nothing unusual. The meal finally ended at midnight.

The Mechanic slept on the sofa, Lu Yuan took the upper bunk, and Zhou An’an drove. The car quickly fell silent, leaving only the hum of the engine.

Driving at night made her drowsy, so she kept two bottles of cola within reach, taking a sip whenever she felt her eyelids grow heavy.

Zombies still roamed in the darkness. Even on roads far from the city, she occasionally spotted a few.

Regardless of their status in life, they now shared a single, obsessive goal: to find and devour the living.

The Unimog’s headlights blazed, drawing the zombies in a frenzy. They surged forward, only to be quickly left behind. A few desperate souls managed to cling to the vehicle’s railings or ladder, but their claws failed to penetrate the sturdy metal, and they were ultimately crushed under the wheels, reduced to pulp.

At first, Zhou An’an had felt cruel witnessing this. But after seeing it so many times, she only frowned in annoyance, their presence slowing her down.

At four in the morning, the world was pitch-black and silent, even the zombies on the road had grown scarce.

Zhou An’an let out a massive yawn. Just as she reached for her cola, she suddenly heard the Mechanic cry out in agony from the sofa.

Her nerves jolted. She prepared to pull over and check, but Lu Yuan had already slipped out of bed and was standing beside the sofa, his brow furrowed.

“How is he?” Zhou An’an asked.

Lu Yuan didn’t answer. After more than a minute, he bent down to check the Mechanic’s breathing and sighed.

“Pull over.”

Zhou An’an quickly stopped the vehicle and rushed over. The Mechanic was already completely entangled in dodder stem filaments.

The dodder had burst from the Mechanic’s chest, tearing open a fist-sized hole. Countless stem filaments wriggled out, stained with his blood, and twisted across his cold body.

He must have known for a while that he wouldn’t make it to the Shelter alive. That’s why he’d tried so hard to eat and smile during dinner.

But why hadn’t he asked for help?

Did he think they couldn’t do anything anyway? Or had he already given up on living?

She suddenly realized how precious time was. In this Apocalypse world, no one knew if they’d be alive the next second. If you wanted to do something, you had to do it immediately, without hesitation.

She instinctively glanced at Lu Yuan. He was staring down at the Mechanic, his thick beard like a mask hiding his thoughts.

The stem filaments were still crawling toward the car. The two of them lifted the body, drained some gasoline from the tank, and doused the corpse.

Lu Yuan pulled out a pack of cigarettes from his pocket—a gift from the Mechanic.

The Mechanic had told him he loved soft Chinese cigarettes but could never afford them, settling for ten-yuan packs of Red Double Happiness instead. This pack, opened on the day the Apocalypse began, had gone untouched on their journey. Since Lu Yuan had never smoked, the Mechanic had given it to him to try.

The box contained twelve cigarettes and a lighter.

Lu Yuan lit a cigarette, stripped away the stem filaments, and placed it in the corpse’s mouth.

When the cigarette was halfway burned, the diesel fuel suddenly ignited, and flames roared to life.

The light attracted nearby zombies, forcing the two to retreat to the car.

Zhou An’an continued driving, while Lu Yuan, unable to sleep, sat in the passenger seat smoking.

“Ugh, that’s so harsh,” she coughed, her throat burning from the smoke.

Lu Yuan rolled down the window for ventilation. After a moment’s hesitation, he crushed out the cigarette and tossed it away.

Why does he look so troubled? Is he thinking about the Mechanic’s death too?

The man who had been laughing and joking with them just hours ago was now a cold, lifeless corpse. The shock was hard to bear.

Even more terrifying was the thought that one day, she might end up the same way.

If they didn’t know when they’d die, shouldn’t she seize the moment to say what she wanted to say?

Should I tell him?

Before she could decide, Lu Yuan suddenly stood up.

“I have no plans for a relationship,” he said quietly, staring out the window.

The blood that had been boiling in Zhou An’an’s veins—the first time she’d felt attraction for a man—was instantly doused with ice. Her mind went blank.

After an unknown interval, she heard herself reply, “Oh, me neither.”

“That’s for the best,” Lu Yuan said, then stepped out of the driver’s seat.

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